The excessive consumption of refined grains and grain extracts has been reported to increase blood sugar and deteriorate glucose tolerance. The inability of the human body to maintain normal glucose levels or to require excessive levels of insulin to do so has been called glucose intolerance, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body insulin receptors are insensitive to insulin. These conditions are associated with obesity and may be preliminary steps in the progression to type-2 diabetes mellitus. It has also been linked to alteration in blood lipid and part of a wide syndrome of metabolic disorders called “Syndrome X”.
The Glycemic Index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. It can be used, in conjunction with information about food composition, to guide food choices. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. Foods with a low GI have significant health benefits. The concept was developed by Dr. David J. Jenkins and colleagues in 1980-1981 at the University of Toronto in their research to find out which foods were best for people with diabetes. A lower GI suggests slower rates of digestion and absorption of the sugars and starches in the foods. The GI of a food is defined by the Area Under the Blood Glucose Response Curve (AUC) following the ingestion of a fixed portion of carbohydrate (usually 50 g). The AUC of the test food is divided by the AUC of a standard (either glucose or white bread, giving two different definitions) and multiplied by 100.
For practical application, the GI is useful to rank foods by developing exchange lists of categories of low glycemic index foods, such as legumes, pearled barley, lightly refined grains (e.g. whole grain pumpernickel bread, or breads made from coarse flour), pasta, etc. Specific local foods could be included in such lists where information is available (e.g. green bananas in the Caribbean and specific rice varieties in Southeast Asia).
The current validated methods use glucose as the reference food, giving it a GI value of 100 by definition. This has the advantage that it is universal and it results in maximum GI values of approximately 100. White bread can also be used as a reference food, giving a different set of GI values. A low GI food will release glucose more slowly and steadily. A high GI food causes a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels and is suitable for energy recovery after endurance exercise or for a person with diabetes experiencing low blood sugar. The glycemic effect of food depends on a number of factors, such as the type of starch (amylose vs. amylopectin), physical entrapment of the starch molecules within the food, fat and protein content of the food and organic acids or their salts in the meal. Adding vinegar, for example, will lower the GI. The presence of fat or soluble dietary fibers can slow the gastric emptying rate thus lowering the GI. Unrefined breads with higher amounts of fiber generally have a lower GI value than white breads. Many brown breads, however, are treated with enzymes to soften the crust, which makes the starch more accessible and thus more acceptable to consumers. This raises the GI, with some brown breads even having GI values over 100.
Meals containing low GI foods reduce both postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses. Animal studies suggest that incorporating slowly digested starch into the diet delays the onset of insulin resistance. Some epidemiologic studies suggest that a low GI diet is associated with reduced risk of developing non-insulin diabetes in men and women. Clinical trials in normal, diabetic and hyperlipidemic subjects show that low GI diets reduce mean blood glucose concentrations, reduce insulin secretion and reduce serum triglycerides in individuals with hypertriglyceridemia.
Okra is occasionally referred to by the synonym, Abelmoschus esculentus L. or formerly known as Hibiscus esculentus. It is commonly consumed as vegetable and is often called lady's finger. Urad, also referred to as urad dhal, urd bean, urd, urid, black matpe bean, black gram, or white lentil (Vigna mungo), is a bean grown in southern Asia.
Patent number DE202004017554U discloses an antidiabetic dietetic nutritional supplement comprising processed Hibiscus species plant material. Independent claims are also included for aqueous preparations obtained by boiling fresh okra provided in unit packaging with indication of suitability for therapy of diabetes diseases. The unit packaging also contains the processed plant material. The disadvantages of the invention can be seen in the aqueous form of the supplement in which the taste and colour of Okra makes the dietetic nutritional supplement not suitable for daily consumption.
The present invention discloses a preparation of pre-mixed flour consisting edible Okra plant in combination with carbohydrate rich cereal and carbohydrate based food to reduce the glycemic index (GI) of carbohydrate based food which shows significant GI value after consumption. A ready to eat mixture of edible Okra plant and carbohydrate rich cereal incorporated in human daily diet could comply to the needs and current trend for consumption of organic based supplementary products. One of the problems in producing a GI reducing food is the preparation of food which is acceptable for personal consumption in respect of taste, texture, colour and aroma. If any of these characteristics are unacceptable, then the food preparation likely is not well received by the public. The present invention has been prepared for daily consumption and is suitable for human of all age group.